Thankful. And born to teach.

Now that I've been on summer break for 2 1/2 weeks, I feel it appropriate to reflect back and really share how incredibly THANKFUL I am for my teaching job.

It's hard to believe that it's been well over 2 years ago that I quit the corporate job I LOVED to totally commit to pursuing a teaching career.

Are there things I miss about the corporate world? Oh my. Yes.

I totally miss the travel.
The wining and dining.
The nervous feeling before giving a presentation before the CEO and 100 other people.
The hour-long lunches. (Miss this the MOST).
The flexibility in when to take vacation.
The ability to sit in my office and not HAVE to talk to people if I don't want to.

With teaching, it is a whole different ball game.

The biggest adjustments for me were absolutely NO down time whatsoever and half the paycheck I was used to. And with being pregnant for half the year, the no down time thing was incredibly difficult with me being sick and all.

You are on 100% of the time. And you exhaust every ounce of energy with the students. I mean EVERY ounce. Not to mention the pressure of making sure every student (no matter what their needs, learning style, or ability) is to meet standards on state assessments. Sheesh.

But I can whole-heartedly say after my first full year of teaching, I ABSOLUTELY made the very best decision. It is truly the most difficult job I've ever had, but I was born to do this. Truly. And I love it. Even the tough moments!

Just wanted to share a few quotes. Our superintendent sent us an e-mail on "99 Reasons Teachers Rock". Here are just a few that I found to be the truest!

• Teachers put up with everyone in the world thinking their job is easy with early days and a big fat summer vacation. - Oh, if I had a nickel...

• Teachers rock because we have bladders of steel ~ Cheryl Bremson Ha. I've got peeing twice in one day down to a science!

• “If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job.” ~ Donald D. 

And a cartoon I LOVE along the same lines of meeting every child's individual needs...

But I must say. There is absolutely NOTHING in the world more rewarding than actually witnessing a student's improvements, receiving dozens of little notes saying how great you are, watching "that lightbulb" go off because of a way YOU explained something, and hearing a parent say that you made a difference in their child's life.

Oh. And I've gotten really good at not laughing at really awkward moments like when a students says "orgasm" instead of organism or "lesbian" instead of Lebanese. :)

My heart melts.

And. I am beyond blessed to work in the district I do. So.thankful.

AND. This year, I had incredible room moms who made my first year a dream.

Here were some of the parting gifts they left for me for teacher appreciation and end of school.

Flowers left on my desk at the beginning of teacher appreciation. I die.  

 Cute little jar of M&Ms with a little poem about being a great teacher. 

 

A homemade baby bag with lots of baby goodies. 

Complete with a "Baby Book of Advice" from my kiddos.  I laughed the whole way through this!!

 A summer survival kit

 And ANOTHER homemade diaper bag for good measure. 

Like I said: Incredibly blessed. :)